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Paperback Call of Cthulhu Book

ISBN: 171934065X

ISBN13: 9781719340656

Call of Cthulhu

(Book #1 in the Lovecraft Penguin Classics' Omnibus Series)

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Book Overview

The Call of Cthulhu by Howard Phillips "H. P." Lovecraft is one of the classic horror works, so called "Lovecraft horrors". According to the comment of one of the Lovecraft's friends: "One day Howard looked into something where the man shouldn't ever have looked." It's hard to say whether it was true. But even if it is just someone's fantasy it should be admitted that Lovecraft's amazing and impressive writing skills created a lot of monsters and chthonian beasts that still astonish human mind. Cthulhu is a gigantic monstrous beast that drowses in the depths of the ocean and waits for the end of the times to rise and destroy this world. "...hidden in distant wasters and dark places all over the world until the time when the great priest Cthulhu, from his dark house in the mighty city of R'lyeh under the waters... Some day he would call, when the stars were ready...to liberate him." One of these short appearances of a gigantic ancient demon is described in this story by Howard Phillips Lovecraft.

Customer Reviews

2 ratings

The Call of Cthulhu and Other Stories: Gilded Pocket Edition

By a waterfall, I’m calling Cthulhu For some reason, this critter is an H.P. Lovecraft classic. I have ordered the 2005 movie. I kept waiting for the action, and somehow it ended before it started. I did not realize how meaningful the title was until the end, when I said, “Oh wow, now I understand. After Francis Wayland Thurston (a professor at Brown University) shuffles off this mortal coil, he leaves papers. His great-nephew, an anthropologist who narrates the story, is shocked to find that France Wayland’s research into what started as a spooky dream to find that he uncovers a cabal of Cthulhu worshipers. But who or what is Cthulhu? We travel with the narrator as he pieces together what Francis suspects. When Cthulhu calls, we may even have to confront him/it ourselves. Buyer tip: check the ISBN, check the page count, and if the author isn’t Lovecraft, assume you’re dealing with an adaptation, a derivative, or a tentacle‑shaped metadata accident.

Academic treatment of Lovecraft

Its interesting reading those who critise HP for being a bit dull. In my most humble opinion, HP LOvecraft is a true horror writer. Horror is not, adopting HP's view of the world, a Freddy Kruger slashing to bits teenagers, or a world over run with zombies- the REAL horror is a wholly uncaring universe, with human efforts and endevours meaning absolutly nothing. The Cthulu mythos , as it is called, all flows from that basic concept- the universe, and the "great old ones" that populate parts of it, do not care for human endevour and that is enough to drive one mad. This philosophy is well reflected in the chilling opening lines of the "The call of cthulhu"- " "the most merciful thing in the world, I think, is the inability of the human mind to correlate all its contents".With that in mind this is an excellent introduction to HP. It contains a mix of his more serious and well known works " The Call of Cthuthlu" and " The rats in the walls", to some of the more obscure and self parodying works. This is not the full stretch by any imagination, but serves as an excellent intorsuction to a writer whose influence cannot be understated. There are some very short stories, plus the a selection of the longer ones in the canon.Joshis intorduction, and footnotes while from time to time are distracting are scolerly and informative. All in all this is THE best introduction to HP.Bear in mind that the Cthulhu mythos is not for all readers. If you are expecting more direct and blunt horror such as King, you will be disappointed. If you want thought provoking writing, that will get you thinking and linger with you after you turn off the lights you will not be disappointed at all.Grade: A++

The Call of Cthulhu and Other Weird Stories Mentions in Our Blog

The Call of Cthulhu and Other Weird Stories in Famous Authors Born in August
Famous Authors Born in August
Published by Ashly Moore Sheldon • August 05, 2025

As we welcome the month ahead, we're shining a light on notable and acclaimed August-born authors. We're delighted to celebrate them and their beloved works of fiction, nonfiction, poetry, theater, and more. 

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